By 2055, an estimated two out of every five Japanese will be aged 65 or older. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talks of wanting to reverse the trend of the ageing society and improving conditions for young adults. Yet the government remains lukewarm to the needs of high school and college graduates who would like to go out on their own but finding they are unable to do so. Read the rest of this entry →

TOKYO — Like Miki Matsuoka, who graduated last year from top-ranked IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, a generation of young Japanese stifled by their country’s grim economic and social situation – and roused, perhaps, by a newfound post-Fukushima appreciation for life’s transience – are increasingly alert to the vast professional opportunities available to them after an overseas education. Read the rest of this entry →

TOKYO –– With its motley collection of small boutiques catering to almost every known breed of fashionista, Japan’s Harajuku is deserving of all the recognition it gets in the world’s major fashion centers. Read the rest of this entry →

TOKYO — Yuki Wachi and her husband cannot speak English, but they send their five-year-old daughter Tamami to a preschool where English is the primary language of instruction. Once Tamami finishes kindergarten and enters the Japanese public school system, Wachi and her husband will commit an additional ¥100,000 per month to after school English lessons for their daughter. Read the rest of this entry →